Astros notes: The proof is in the pitching

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Manager Brad Mills needed some sort of offer of proof from pitcher Bud Norris during a fifth-inning mound visit on Wednesday.

Norris did just that in a 4-3 victory against the Chicago Cubs, perhaps proving something to himself in the process.

The first four innings had been hard labor for Norris, and the fifth was sending off alarms to Mills. Norris started the inning by hitting one batter and walking another, prompting a mound visit by pitching coach Doug Brocail. When a walk by Carlos Pena loaded the bases, Mills went to the mound accompanied by trainer Nate Lucero to make sure Norris didn’t have some underlying health issue.

“He seemed to be laboring to me, especially in the fifth inning,” Mills said. “That just wasn’t the Bud we’re used to seeing. The location of his pitches, they weren’t even close. I needed to be convinced he was OK. I needed to be convinced, and he did. I said, `Let me see, then.’ And he did.”

Norris cranked out a couple 93-mph fastballs to set up a strikeout of Geovany Soto on a breaking ball. The next batter, Marlon Byrd, froze on a 93-mph fastball for strike three. Norris got Alphonso Soriano to fly out to shallow center on a 94-mph fastball. Until that three-batter sequence, Norris rarely touched his usual 93-mph range.

“It shows me maturing,” Norris said. “I didn’t have my best stuff. I’m just trying to battle, especially this late in the season.

“I’ve had confidence in myself to get out of those situations and maybe made a good pitch or a bad pitch and it’s gotten hit. But this time, I had that little bit of extra confidence in myself and made the pitches and got two big punchouts and a big popout to get out of it. I’m very proud of that and the maturity level that I’ve shown and (that’s) what I want to keep doing going forward.”

Repeat hero

Tuesday night’s hero, Brian Bogusevic, got a start in right filed on Wednesday. Bogusevic, who hit a game-winning, pinch-hit grand slam Tuesday, doubled home the first two runs of a 4-3 victory on Wednesday. On top of his offensive contribution, Bogusevic cut off a ball down the right-field line in the ninth inning to hold Darwin Barney to a single. The base saved proved to instrumental in the Astros escaping the inning without allowing the tying run.

“I already had him in the lineup (before the grand slam),” manager Brad Mills said. “When a guy comes through, you like to give him more at-bats to kind of keep him ready for those situations. He’s been doing such a great job as a pinch-hitter for us.”

The winning home run Tuesday was a 423-foot blow to center field. Though Bogusevic is listed at 6-3 and 223 pounds and is one of the strongest players on the team, he has averaged a home run ever 56.4 at-bats at Triple-A. Mills suspects power potential lurks within Bogusevic, if the Astros can just tap into it.

“Any time you can hit a ball like that … We’re talking about a guy who really hasn’t been a position player all that long,” Mills said, mindful that Bogusevic is a converted pitcher. “I know that each year, we can still say that because he was a pitcher for so long. He’s still developing those skills. The big think that strikes you about Bogey is his athleticism for the size he is. The bat speed, the power, the speed, the arm, all those things are big.”

Lee takes a seat

First baseman Carlos Lee got a rest on Wednesday, replaced by Matt Downs. Though Lee is 7-for-43 in his past 13 games, he has drawn 10 walks.

Have teams been pitching around Lee since the departure of Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn via trade?

“I think some guys are,” manager Brad Mills said. “And I encouraged him (Tuesday): Go ahead and take your walks. There’s going to be a time when they can’t pitch around you. Keep the inning going. Keep the inning alive for us. Keep that line moving. It puts more guys on base. It turns over the lineup.

“If there’s a runner on third and the infield is back and you can get the run in by expanding the zone, different. But if there’s a man on second and two outs, take your walk. We love having base runners. That’s not a bad thing.”

Downs, for his part, went 2-for-4 and put the Astros ahead for good with a two-run single in the fourth inning.

Odds ane ends

When Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez went deep in the third inning, he became the eighth player reach the 40-homer barrier against the Astros. The all-time leaders: Hank Aaron (45), Willie McCovey (44), Sammy Sosa (42), Willie Stargell (42) Albert Pujols (42) Fred McGriff (41), Tony Perez (40) and Ramirez. … Right fielder Brian Bogusevic, on the Astros needing 0-for-13 hitting from the Cubs with runners in scoring position to escape with the victory: “Why not? That’s how it goes for us, and nothing’s really come easy this year.” … Reliever Fernando Rodriguez worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, lowing his ERA over his past 22 appearances to 1.93 (23 1/3 innings, five earned runs). … The Cubs had won four consecutive series before dropping two of three games against the Astros.